A man suffering from a rare disorder that forces him to vomit up to 10 days a day is hoping a fundraiser will help him access more suitable care. Ryan Lewis, 22, from Sheffield, has been rushed to hospital seven times in the past six months.
Mr Lewis suffers from Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome (CVS). This causes abrupt and repeated attacks - known as episodes - of severe vomiting and waves of nausea.
The duration of episodes varies between a few hours to several days. Although the symptoms of CVS are similar to a stomach infection or bacterial bug, the vomiting episodes are not related.
According to the NHS, little is known about the cause of CVS. Mr Lewis has found his lived experience of NHS hospitals ‘incredibly hard’ and he is now exploring fundraising avenues to help him receive private care.
As reported by YorkshireLive, Mr Lewis, who was born in Barnsley and now lives in Sheffield, said that he started suffering persistently with the illness at around September last year. This was after he returned from a weeklong holiday with his girlfriend Phoebe Featherstone in Edinburgh.
Mr Lewis said: "I couldn’t keep down food and I began experiencing a lot of pain to the point where I had to leave my job. When I have full blown attacks there's abdominal pain and nausea as well.
"For a while no one knew what was wrong and I had to undergo a lot of testing and hospital visits. Eventually I got a diagnosis of Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome."
He said that the illness has led to him losing three jobs in the last six months. He has also struggled with getting Universal Credit due to issues with acquiring a sickness note from his GP.
He said that during his worst bouts, he has vomited as many as 10 times a day. He believes on average he's vomited once every two days over the last six months.
He said: "It gets to the point where you are throwing up blood because there's nothing left." Mr Lewis, who now works as a tutor, added that his experiences of hospitals in Sheffield have been frustrating as he has been sent to the wrong ward and received inconsistent levels of care and attention.
He also complained about the lack of beds and the time that doctors are able to give to patients. He said: "There is no cure yet for CVS so I am now in the process of finding the best form of pain management and medication to ease my symptoms.
"This condition has completely changed my life, I am constantly in and out of hospital with pain and vomiting. My experience in hospital has been incredibly hard and I am coming to the realisation that I am not getting the care I need from the NHS.
"I'm constantly being put on respiratory wards when I need nurses and doctors that work on the neurological ward." Mr Lewis has now set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to help him access more suitable care at a private practitioner.
He said: "My goal is to have some kind of pain management plan at home that can help me to reduce hospital admissions and allow me to get back to some normality. This has led me to begin looking into private healthcare which can hopefully provide me the level of care I need.
"Unfortunately I simply do not have the funds for this as this illness has made it impossible to work." Mr Lewis's fundraiser had a target of £400 and it has already surpassed that.
It currently stands at £740. He said that he has his eyes on a practice in the Crosspool area of Sheffield that was recommended to him.
He said: "I'm really overwhelmed. It's quite mad. I posted it at 10 o'clock at night hoping a couple of friends and family would see it.
"When I woke up and it had £500 donated and messages from people with the same disorder wanting to help out." To donate to the fundraiser click here.
